Related

“The real way an industry moves politicians is by moving blocks of voters to align with their interests.

Francesco Trebbi

Assoc. professor, economics, UBC

---

Four of the five companies engaged in the most lobbying in B.C. are in the oil and gas sector, according to an analysis of lobbyist registry data by The Vancouver Sun.

At a time when pipelines, liquid natural gas terminals and hydraulic fracturing are key election issues, The Sun’s analysis reveals the province’s biggest energy companies are also its most active in lobbying government officials and politicians.

Spectra Energy, which operates a network of natural gas pipelines in the province, is the most active lobbyist in the province, according to the data. Natural gas producer Encana, gas supplier FortisBC and pipeline operator Kinder Morgan also made the top five.

The only non-energy company in the top five is Siemens Canada, whose lobbying primarily focuses on marketing products like MRI machines to health authorities and hospitals.

Lobbyists in B.C. are required to register with the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists whenever they have lobbied, or intend to lobby, a politician or government official. That registry is searchable online in various ways, such as by lobbyist name, organization or the person being lobbied. However, there’s no simple way to see which organizations are doing the most lobbying in B.C. or which politicians are being lobbied the most.

To help answer those questions, The Sun asked Registrar Elizabeth Denham for a copy of the raw data behind the registry, which she provided earlier this month.

A detailed analysis of that data reveals that, among lobbyists active in B.C. on April 1, Spectra does more lobbying than any other company or organization within the province.

Gary Weilinger, Spectra’s vice-president of external relations, said he wasn’t surprised, noting his company makes a point of keeping in touch with MLAs from across the province. “Our (pipeline) system runs from north of 60 all the way down to the border,” he said. “We cover a tremendous amount of territory, so there’s a lot of opportunity for contact.”

Weilinger said Spectra is the single largest taxpayer in the province, at $145 million last year, which means even small changes in government policy can have a big effect. “When someone says let’s tweak the tax regime, that has a huge impact on us and we want to be involved,” he said.

As part of the registration process, lobbyists must indicate what the “intended outcome” of their meetings with government officials are.

Spectra’s registration indicates a range of topics, including harmonization of greenhouse gas reporting, development of carbon capture projects and the impact of the carbon tax on the industry.

Encana, the third most active lobbyist in the province, lists LNG terminals, the carbon tax and fracking regulations among its key concerns.

“Lobbying is important to this company, this industry and to our operating communities,” Encana spokesman Doug McIntyre wrote in an email. “We maintain open lines of dialogue with provincial policy-makers on fiscal and environmental policy matters that promote responsible development and the economic competitiveness of [our] industry.”

FortisBC, the fourth most active lobbyist, has focused its lobbying efforts on issues such as securing thermal energy contracts with schools and hospitals and promoting natural gas as a fuel for commercial vehicles.

Last year, the B.C. government made a regulatory change that allows companies like Fortis to offer financial incentives to companies that switch their vehicle fleets to natural gas.

Kinder Morgan’s lobbying efforts have been focused primarily on gaining approval for the proposed expansion of its Trans Mountain oil pipeline from Edmonton to Burnaby.

The Sun ranked companies based on the number of “contacts” they declared in the lobbyist registry. A contact occurs whenever a company records its intent to lobby a specific politician or agency. If a company has multiple lobbyists, the same politician may be listed several times — and each time is considered a separate contact. As well, if a lobbyist plans to lobby the same person on more than one subject, that shows up in the registry as multiple contacts.

Of the 10 organizations with the most contacts, most are large, well-known companies like railway giant Canadian Pacific and forestry company Domtar.

The one exception: Kingswood Crescent Developments.

Kingswood’s lobbyist John Moonen said he has met with several MLAs over the past few years in hopes of securing provincial funding for a destination rock-climbing centre in Squamish. Kingswood wanted the centre built to make one of its residential developments more attractive. Moonen said the effort was unsuccessful.

The Sun’s analysis reveals surprisingly little overlap between the companies doing the most lobbying in B.C. and those that have given the most money to the province’s political parties.

Indeed, of the top 20 organizations doing the most lobbying in B.C., only one is among the top 20 donors to the B.C. Liberals: Encana, which has given the party nearly $800,000 since 2005. None of the top lobbyists are among the top 20 donors to the NDP.

Many of the most active lobbying organizations have donated some money to the B.C. Liberals over the years, but not large amounts. Spectra and Fortis, for example, have each given the Liberals about $60,000 since 2005.

Francesco Trebbi, an associate professor of economics at the University of B.C., said observers sometimes give too much weight to the role of money in politics and not enough to the role of lobbyists, who often try to convince politicians that voters are on their side.

“A special interest group or corporation is going to give money to a politician. But the real way an industry moves politicians is by moving blocks of voters to align with their interests,” Trebbi said. “By looking at money by itself, you’re missing a lot of the picture of how political influence works.”

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

A Radio-Canada reporter has been arrested for alleged criminal harassment while pursuing the subject of a story. According to Radio-Canada, reporter Antoine Trépanier was arrested Tuesday night by Gatineau police. He was released on a promise to appear in court. Trépanier was called by Gatineau police Tuesday evening and an officer requested that he come […]

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.